Like millions of others worldwide who couldn’t get a ticket to the Back To The Beginning show in Villa Park, Birmingham, on July 5, I sat down to watch it on the streaming facility, looking forward to a day of (almost) live music from some giants of the rock world. Of course, the show was set to culminate with a reunion of the original four members of Black Sabbath and a performance from Ozzy Osbourne. Obviously, no one could have known he would die just weeks later on July 22, but amidst his Parkinson’s battle, he had decided to retire from the stage, and this was his farewell to the fans. It raised millions for charity. It was all very selfless and lovely. But I think he made a huge mistake and shouldn’t have done it.
Although I had met Ozzy once, I had never seen him live, as, although I had tickets to his shows on two occasions, he cancelled the gigs. So I was excited for what was likely to be the closest I would now ever get to seeing him on stage. In true viewing party style we settled down for the day with snacks and drinks to watch the amazing line up which included appearances from Metallica and Guns n Roses. Then came the time for the big moment. Ozzy was taking to the stage. And as the Prince of Darkness, who was famed for his energetic stage antics, was wheeled out in a chair (an elaborate gothic throne to be precise) and sat on stage surveying the audience, I felt it was one of the saddest things I had ever seen.
For someone who had been so vital, this seemed a truly tragic turn of events and it was impossible not to focus on what he couldn’t do rather than what he could as he rattled through five of his solo hits, I Don’t Know, Mr. Crowley, Suicide Solution, Mama, I’m Coming Home and Crazy Train.
Glancing online, I could see many shared this opinion. Fans posted across social media that they were devastated to see his deterioration and would rather remember him as he was.
The most heartbreaking thing was that on several occasions, both during his solo set and the four Black Sabbath tracks he sang, you could see he was itching to get out of the chair and strut across the stage as he had done in his live performances for so many decades.
Indeed, the tragedy of his situation was highlighted as Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler worked the stage while all Ozzy could do from his perch was clap his hands and lead the crowd swaying along to the music.
His voice was strong, and the intensive training regime he undertook to get in shape for the show clearly paid off. If you closed your eyes, it was very much the Ozzy of old. But the visual did not match the vocal, and if anyone had been in any doubt that this would be his stage swansong, it was assuaged when the severity of his condition became obvious.
It felt like an ignominious end to his live career—albeit it was his choice to bow out this way. But the concert could have easily gone ahead as a tribute to Ozzy and his career with him in attendance as a special guest, saving him the stress of the performance and also ensuring people’s enduring memories of his live shows were of the wild-eyed and energetic rocker who couldn’t stand still.
The concert was an amazing feat, and the money raised will do a lot of good for the charities receiving it. It was incredibly brave of Ozzy to put himself out there like that, and I can only imagine the strain it put on him.
But it is a performance that I doubt I could ever watch again – even before his death. It was too tragic to see him like that. He seemingly had plans to make new music, which now won’t happen. This means the last memory we have of him is of the weakened, ill man on stage who had spent the past several years in pain. And that is not how anyone who was once such a force of nature should be remembered.